Mood: apathetic

     So this is embarassing.  I was having some trouble with my Fuzzibunz diapers leaking.  It turns out I was putting all of my diapers on incorrectly.  I was getting too much leg fat in there.  I found a video on the internet and I haven't had a leak since.  Since Matt and Adrian somehow manage to create the same amount of laundry, it will be nice to have a tiny bit less.  Seriously, I remember the days when I could get my laundry done in a weekend.  Now I do it every day, and not just because I have cloth diapers.  Yet I still manage to suck at folding.

     Adrian tried bananas the other day.  His reaction was akin to: "uh huh, what else ya got?" He made this face the whole time.  Mood: apathetic.  Points if you know where that phrase is from.

     I'm pretty sure Adrian would jump all day if I let him; only stopping for naps and food. However, this kid needs to learn to crawl eventually.  He is doing well at sitting with the boppy and he no longer leans in his high chair.  He doesn't need a blanket around him in his jumperoo anymore.  He just does not like to be on his tummy.  I'm thinking of bribing him.

We match! But not on purpose.

Watching a Justice League movie.

A couple milestones and an off color joke

     First, Adrian rolled over from his back to his tummy! I knew he could do it, because he kept rolling onto his side and grabbing his feet.  He just lacked the motivation until now.  He was reaching for a toy. This is his coy smile a couple minutes later:

.

He also started dancing last night!  He was shaking his head side to side and moving his body after someone sang on American Idol.  I got a video on my phone but I've heard it's hard for some people to watch.  I'll see if I can get it on youtube later:

I'm so proud, we'll have to break out the WHAM tapes and dance some more.  WHAM, Paula Abdul and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack bring me back to my early childhood.  Among other music, but those stick out.

     Before Adrian had these moments of growing up, we went to Minnesota to visit Matt's side of the family last weekend.  We left Friday night and I was excited to spend all that quality time with my husband.  Except Adrian was not happy, and I had to sit with him the majority of the trip.  This was his first car trip, so it's understandable.  On the way, we stopped at a little restaurant/gas station in a small town.  Matt went inside to get snacks and when he came out he announced this gem:

Matt: "It smelled like ranch in there, and the average age was 80.  Julie, if you went inside the property values would have dropped"

Me: /dead laughing

Matt always says "smells like ranch" when he's talking about a majorly white population.  He's white so he can say that, right?

Adrian found his feet.  I believe his next goal is getting them in his mouth.

     Besides Adrian being ticked off, the trip went well.  We stayed at his grandparent's house, and they are very nice, giving people. We hung out at his Aunt Cheryl's all day Saturday and Adrian did pretty well and let people hold him and play with him.  He tried peas and liked them.  Matt pretty much played video games with his cousin all day, so he was happy.  I mostly socialized and took care of Adrian.  I also fell on the ice, but thank goodness I wasn't holding him. Barb was grilling steak and it caught fire.  It was kind of funny, but they weren't totally ruined; mine still tasted good. It was a nice visit but the ride home was again, not very fun.  I was hoping he would sleep a lot.  Maybe next time.

        I hope I didn't offend anyone with Matt's joke, we just tease each other all the time about all sorts of things but he's not really racist I promise.

Most of you have seen this on Facebook, but he fell asleep in his jumperoo and I thought it was adorable.  I took a picture and got him out because it also looked uncomfortable.

I noticed that cord is in a lot of my pictures.  Oops.  It's for my computer.  We need to babyproof!

Avocados: I wasn't impressed either

   
     Yesterday I continued my domestic diva streak and made avocado puree with the baby bullet.  It was so easy and fast.  For the first few bites he was smiling and happy, then he got mad all of a sudden.  He wouldn't finish, so there went one serving down the tube.  One avocado made 4 servings though, so I still saved at least $1 because the avocado was $1.19.  I tried it, and I wasn't impressed either.

This kid always leans to his left.  Whether it's on the boppy, in my Moby wrap or in his highchair.  I don't get it.

I was trying to get his Thor band-aid in the shot.  Fail.

     Last night Matt called on his way home from work and Adrian was awake because he was having trouble sleeping.  He was so cranky but as soon as he heard Matt's voice he started cooing and giggling.  It was adorable.  He loves his dad so much!

Playing with his manly truck.

     I just realized I never wrote about our experience with his 6 month pictures.  That afternoon we had lunch with friends at our house.  Matt didn't really want to go to the pictures so he hung out with them and my mom came with me.  I also needed her for my spine, as you might recall from the last experience.  It went really well.  He smiled the whole time, and the photographer got lots of good pictures.  We went to the same place but it was a much better experience.  I think it's because she had worked with babies before.  I'll post some of the pictures on here later.  I spent much less than I did the last time and I am very happy with my pictures.

     It turns out that one of our friends takes pictures for fun.  She does more candid, outdoor photos like I would get all the time if I were rich.  She has done weddings and families I think.  I would love to have her take pictures when he turns a year old, and we can get a family picture too.

6 month stats and a cleaning frenzy

     Adrian had his 6 month appointment today.  Everything went well.  Here are his stats:

Weight: 17.5 lbs (43%)

Height: 27 3/4" (86%)

I woke up late and did nothing to myself except get dressed.  I probably looked like a wreck.  Adrian had to get 4 shots and he cried but stopped when I picked him up. He's so brave.  He got Thor band-aids, lucky boy.

     After the appointment we went home so he could eat and take a nap.  Then we went to Target to pick out avocados for the baby bullet.  I found a cute mail holder and a Valentine's card for Matt.  We went to give my mom her copies of his 6 month pictures, then realized I left them at my in laws house :( I was cutting coupons there and it all got mixed up I guess.

     Adrian took another nap when we got home and I went on a cleaning frenzy.  I was just going to take care of some laundry in our room when I decided I had enough of the mess and forced myself to make decisions about what could be thrown away or given away, and where to put random things. Sometimes I just got overwhelmed with it and put it off so Matt could help me on a weekend.  That never happened. So now I have a 90% clean room, minus a couple boxes of things that need to be gone through.  Next I tackled the kitchen and the fridge. That's where that smell was coming from...

I'm excited for Matt to see our nice clean room, and a bed that is actually made.

In conclusion, I have a cute baby.  Wanna see?

Relaxing with a full belly

I LOVE cloth diapering

     Now that I've been cloth diapering for several months, I thought I would give an update.  I've had ups and downs; I've had trials, temptations and second thoughts.  I can say without a doubt that I LOVE cloth diapering.  I love to talk about it, I love to answer questions about it, and I love to get fluff mail (new diapers) although I've got a good stash and I haven't bought any in a while. If you don't want to read about diapers, at least have a look at my beautiful stash.  Here we go.

My cloth diaper stash:

On the left we have my Bumgenius pockets, the next two are Bumgenius All-in-ones, in the middle are the Fuzzibunz, then on the end starting from the top are Rumparooz, a Charlie Banana and a Kawaii.  Then my extra inserts.

Top starting from the left: Charlie Banana, Kawaii, Rumparooz
Bottom starting at the left:  Bumgenius pocket, Bumgenius All in One (AIO), Fuzzibunz 

Here's the inside of the Charlie Banana.  I think these seem like the most comfortable.  I love this blue, the elastic is wide so it doesn't leave marks and it conforms more to his body.  You can move the elastic to make it longer.  The downsides are: they're a little more pricey and when he poos it's hard to get the insert out without getting...dirty.

Here's the Bumgenius pocket.  A pocket has inserts.  You stuff the insert into the pocket to absorb the moisture. Then when you change the diaper you take the insert out and throw everything in the bin.  I normally stuff my diapers once they're clean, then they're all ready when he needs them.  Bumgenius is probably my favorite diaper.  They are a decent price, they seem comfortable, they are generously sized so I'm sure they'll fit through potty training, and they're easy to use.  Also they come in lots of cute colors!

This is the Bumgenius AIO.  Instead of stuffing inserts into the diaper, they're sewn  in.  This can make them harder to clean and they take longer to dry. I do like having them to grab if I'm in a hurry though, and I don't have to worry about stuffing them.

This is a Fuzzibunz.  It's also a pocket diaper.   I normally use these if I want a more trim diaper.  I love the colors that Fuzzibunz offers. This is the diaper he wore in those Christmas pictures.

This drawer has my prefolds and covers.  It also has my wet bags.  The solid green is a liner for the diaper pail.

Prefolds are more like what cloth diapers used to be.  You fold the prefold (there are many different ways) and you can either lay it in the diaper or use a snappi to keep it on. (instead of pins)  Then you put the cover over it.  This is one of the cheapest ways to go.  I have Thirsties covers. I like to use these on washing day, or if I need more room in my diaper bag.

The blue is an Itti Bitti wetbag.  I got it for free; I think it might be a small.  The green one is Planet wise, size medium.  I like how planet wise has lots of patterns to choose from but both of these wet bags work well.  The purpose is to store dirty diapers in them while you're out of the house.  I like having two.

My wash routine:

     So when a diaper is dirty I spray it with an odor remover and throw it in this dry pail.  It's just a kitchen trash can with a washable Planetwise pail liner.  It normally only starts smelling if I wait too long to wash. Or I've gotten used to the smell, in which case I hope my friends tell me my house smells like diapers ;) Anyway, I wash every two days or so.  I take the bag downstairs and dump everything into the washer, then toss the liner in.  I don't even have to touch the diapers.  I have an HE machine so it took me a little while to troubleshoot.  HE machines are supposed to use less water, which is the opposite of what cloth diapers need.  First I do a rinse for 20 minutes.  Then I add a tablespoon of Fuzzibunz powder detergent, and a capful of Calgon water softener because hard water makes it harder to get diapers clean.  I wash on the "Normal" cycle on the settings: Heavy, Hot, Medium spin.  This is an hour and twenty-eight minutes. Then I do two more 20 minute rinse cycles.  I dry all of the inserts, wetbags, liners, prefolds and covers in the dryer. I dry all of the pocket diapers on a drying rack because it will make them last longer than if I always put them in the dryer.  I just do this in the living room because I don't have room in the laundry room.

A Dirty History:

     A couple months ago I did have some stink issues, and Adrian got an awful diaper rash due to ammonia problems.  That's when I had to strip the diapers.  I put my inserts through a sanitation cycle, soaked my diapers and rinsed the crap out of them.  Then I switched to a more cloth diaper friendly laundry detergent without any additives (like brighteners, enzymes etc).  I started using Calgon and I got some hemp liners, which are more absorbent than microfiber. I love them.  

A conclusion and a look into the future:

Cloth diapering is not for everybody. If it wasn't for the tree hugger in me, and the fact that someone said I "wouldn't last" cloth diapering, I may have given up at some point. Thank goodness I'm stubborn. It took a little while to get into my groove but now I really love it.  Adrian is starting solids though, so some things are going to change.  I'll have to decide between using disposable liners, getting a sprayer for the toilet, or swishing his soiled diapers in the toilet to get the poop off.  It won't be so washer friendly anymore. 

I'm considering using cloth wipes too, because it seems like it would be easy to just throw them in the wash.  I'll have to do some more research.  Thank you for sitting through my rambling; I hope you learned something today!  Also I hope I didn't accidently give any wrong information.  The reviews are just my opinions. Every baby is different, that's why I would recommend getting at least a couple different kinds before investing in your favorite.

I can't remember if there was anything else I wanted to talk about.  So I'll end with my sweet, messy baby:

6 Months

My little man is 6 months old! He is getting so big and I am cherishing these fleeting moments of his babyhood.  Here is what Adrian is like these days:

His likes and dislikes are the same as last month, except he now likes the bath.  Thank goodness.  In fact he learned to splash this week.  I had to change my shirt :)

Able to:

• Reach the floor in his jumperoo. Hurray!
• Sit for a few seconds without assistance.  We're working on it.
• Grab his feet.  I'm sure they will be in his mouth any day now.
• Grow hair!  I swear, every morning it's a little thicker and darker.  
• (He's starting to) reach up when he wants to be held.

Other:

• He's starting to make a beeline for anything I'm holding or touching.  i.e. my phone, the remote, the computer.  He wants to suck on them of course.  Yum!
• He makes the most adorable sounds.  I have to get some of them on tape; they are music to my ears.
• We have started using baby sign language!  It's ASL (American Sign Language). We are starting off with 5: mama, daddy, diaper change, eat, milk.  You slowly add on while everyone learns them.  Hopefully in a couple of months he will try to sign back.  
• When you carry him he will hold onto your hair; if he can't hang onto your hair, as in Matt's case, he just grabs your neck skin. 

I gotcha where I want ya, and now I'm gonna eat ya!

Monkey's do not taste good.

We have his 6 month doctor's appointment coming up shortly, so I'll have his stats then.  I'm guessing he's at least 17 pounds and 27 inches. We shall see!

That's a bright diaper, dude.